May 21 – Saudi Arabia is continuing its football outreach with the most recent event being a 5-day women’s football development workshop that brought together coaches from Africa and Saudi Arabia.
In May 2023 the Saudi Arabian FA signed a memorandum of understanding with Africa’s regional governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The cooperation and development agreement is for five years with the objective to foster strong ties and football development, focussing on initiatives around technical and football development at club and national team level, grassroots football, women’s football, talent identification, competitions, friendly matches and commercial opportunities.
The Riyadh-based workshop is a product of that agreement and saw 32 coaches, 16 African coaches from 13 CAF member associations participating alongside 16 coaches from local Saudi sports clubs, regional training centers, and the Saudi Arabian Women’s National Teams.
Lamia Bahaian, vice president of SAFF, said: “Through these collaborative efforts, we aim to create a strong network of coaches who can share their experiences, support one another, and contribute to the global advancement of women’s football. The enthusiasm and dedication shown by the participants have been truly inspiring, and we are confident that their influence will be felt on and off the field.”
The workshop included a variety of panel discussions, practical lessons, and theoretical sessions. Key football-related topics covered in the workshop spanned data analytics, female health and injury prevention, leadership and communication, how to build your team, and more.
CAF member associations represented in Riyadh included Botswana, Burundi, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
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